Wicklow Way · Stage 4
Walking time as visitwicklow.ie states it for this stage; measured on the mapped line: 3 h 42. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights. Visitwicklow.ie
From Glendalough past the Upper Lake, up a tough climb and down to Glenmalure at Drumgoff Bridge: 13.9 km, 5 h. The national park is upgrading the White Trail above the Upper Lake (the White Zig Zags, from the Miners' Village up to the footbridge) from 20 July 2026 for 5 or 6 months. The trails stay open, except on one or two days when stone comes in by helicopter, and only about 10 m is worked on at a time. No detour is published, and the park does not say whether the Wicklow Way itself is affected: obey the trail crew and the signs. At Drumgoff, where this part ends, the signed reroute along the Clohernagh brook begins: see part 5.
Best season: All year. Neither Sport Ireland nor Visit Wicklow publishes a walking season. An Óige's hostels at Knockree and Glendalough are open all year, and the Glendalough Bus runs every day except Christmas Day. Some sections can be wet and muddy, Sport Ireland says. In midwinter there are under 8 hours of daylight, less than the longest parts take. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
Glendalough, by Laragh: the monastic site and the lakes. It is the best-connected stop on the Way, with the Glendalough Bus to Dublin all year (not on Christmas Day) and TFI Local Link 183 and 895. An Óige's Glendalough International Hostel is about 300 m away.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Glendalough International Hostel · Hostel or bunkhouse
Season 2026: 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026
Stage end · overnight
Town
The middle of the Way, by Drumgoff Bridge in Glenmalure. Beds are few: An Óige's Glenmalure Hostel is about 2.6 km up the valley, with no electricity or running water and no online booking. OpenStreetMap also lists Glenmalure Lodge, a guest house by the bridge; we have not read its own page.
OpenStreetMap lists at least 1 place to stay within about 300 m (read 13 October 2026). TrailSplits has not checked which are open.
Glenmalure Hostel · Hostel or bunkhouse
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Make it your trip
Most places to stay are off the Way, Sport Ireland says, so plan with care and book every night ahead. No permit is needed. An Óige's hostels at Knockree and Glendalough take bookings online; its Glenmalure hostel takes enquiries only. South of Glenmalure beds are few, in Tinahely, Shillelagh and around Clonegal, and some hosts offer walkers a lift to and from the Way: ask when you book. Dogs are not allowed on the Wicklow Way.
Visit Wicklow's six parts, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe northern half over the mountains in three parts, with the Glendalough Bus back to Dublin.
Plan this journeyGlenmalure and the long southern parts, in four days with a night at Shillelagh.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (128 m) and high point (569 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (128 m) and the highest point (569 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed |
| High point, day / night | 6°/1° | 6°/1° | 7°/1° | 9°/2° | 12°/5° | 15°/7° | 16°/9° | 16°/9° | 14°/8° | 11°/5° | 8°/2° | 6°/1° |
| Low point, day / night | 8°/3° | 9°/3° | 10°/3° | 12°/5° | 15°/7° | 17°/10° | 19°/11° | 19°/11° | 17°/10° | 14°/7° | 11°/5° | 9°/3° |
| Rain, mm | 130 | 108 | 99 | 97 | 100 | 86 | 101 | 113 | 123 | 152 | 164 | 150 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible |
| Daylight | 8 h 05 | 9 h 50 | 11 h 45 | 13 h 54 | 15 h 46 | 16 h 53 | 16 h 29 | 14 h 50 | 12 h 47 | 10 h 43 | 8 h 45 | 7 h 37 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Since August 2024 Sport Ireland has signed a reroute along the Clohernagh brook at Drumgoff, near the middle of the Way, for forestry works, until further notice. The signs are easy to follow, it says; the ground is uneven, so take care. Northbound, leave the Way at the hairpin bend towards a cul-de-sac, then follow the tree line down to rejoin it; southbound, follow the tree line and the brook up from the Half Way Marker to the forest road and turn right. The official route here is not mapped yet: our line still takes the old route for about 2.5 km at the start of part 5, so follow the signed diversion. Read 13 October 2026.
Sport Ireland: the Drumgoff reroute (map)From 20 July 2026, for 5 or 6 months, the national park is upgrading the White Trail above the Upper Lake, from the Miners' Village up to the footbridge; the Blue Trail may be disrupted too. The trails stay open, except on one or two days when stone is flown in by helicopter. No detour is published, and the park does not say whether the Wicklow Way itself is affected: on part 4, obey the crew and the signs. Read 13 October 2026.
Wicklow Mountains National Park: Glendalough trail worksParts 5 and 6 are 32.8 and 32.4 km, 8 hours each by Visit Wicklow's figures, and Visit Wicklow says the Way is usually split into six or seven sections. We could confirm no bed between Glenmalure and Tinahely; Shillelagh, about 2.4 km off the Way, splits part 6. Beds at Tinahely, Shillelagh and Clonegal are few: book them first. Read 13 October 2026.
Visit Wicklow: the Wicklow WayMuch of the Way crosses forest owned by Coillte, the state forestry company, which posts harvesting closures and diversions on its updates page. On 13 October 2026 none was current on the Way: the last, at Glenmalure from 27 April 2026, was for about six weeks. Check the page before you set off, and follow any diversion signs.
Coillte: events and updatesDogs are not allowed on the Wicklow Way, Sport Ireland says, and some sections can be wet and muddy. Read 13 October 2026.
Sport Ireland: the Wicklow WayGetting there
Travel around Glendalough to Glenmalure.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Marlay Park is in Rathfarnham, on the southern edge of Dublin. Dublin Bus route 16 runs there through the city centre, the guidebook site wicklowway.com says; check times with Dublin Bus.
Dublin BusThe Glendalough Bus (St Kevin's) runs from St Stephen's Green in Dublin by Bray, Roundwood and Laragh to Glendalough every day except Christmas Day, with only a few departures a day. TFI Local Link 183 links Glendalough with Arklow, and the 895 with Sallins and Naas for the train. For Knockree, take Dublin Bus 44 to Enniskerry, then the L15, then walk about 40 minutes, An Óige says.
Glendalough Bus: timetableTransport from Clonegal is thin. Bus Éireann's 132 between Dublin, Tullow and Bunclody stops at Bunclody, about 3 km away, and Kildavin, on the Dublin to Waterford road, is about 3 km away too; check the times with the operator before you set out.
Transport for Ireland: Bus Éireann routesTake your trip with you
Prepare every part while you still have a connection, and test it offline before you set out.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
Sport Ireland, which looks after Ireland's National Waymarked Ways, publishes the Wicklow Way as one route of 128.1 km from Marlay Park in Dublin to Clonegal in County Carlow, with no stages. Visit Wicklow (Wicklow County Tourism, which Sport Ireland names as the trail's management body) divides it into six parts, with an official stage time for each, shown beside ours on every stage. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 2740, from the planet of 11 October 2026): about 128 km, the whole trail, cut at the six part ends, each within about 1.1 km of Visit Wicklow's figure. Two part ends are not on the Way itself: Visit Wicklow ends part 2 at Oldbridge (its page address says Roundwood, about 2 km off the Way) and part 5 at Crossbridge, a hamlet near Tinahely about 0.8 km off the Way; our line ends each where the Way passes. At Drumgoff, at the start of part 5, Sport Ireland has signed a reroute along the Clohernagh brook for forestry works since August 2024, until further notice. The official route here is not mapped yet: our line still takes the old route for about 2.5 km (km 63.5 to 66 of the Way), so follow the signs there, not the line. Sport Ireland's two figures for the total ascent disagree, so we quote neither. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Sport Ireland: the Wicklow WayMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation